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 Post subject: Re: South Coast PFI
PostPosted: Wed Mar 23, 2016 6:38 pm 
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With dimming of the Libras, they are pushing them to the limits without having them unacceptably dim at all times or part nighting. The current 35-60-35 regime seems acceptable light level wise. It certainly gets dim after midnight, which is fine when roads are empty of activity, but I wouldn't want such dim lighting levels when the roads are busy.

Winter is a problem, because compact fluorescent does struggle in cold temperatures, and to be honest Hampshire hasn't had enough cold temperatures in order to gauge the performance of the Libras under dimming regimes, plus they have increased dimming on such a regular basis that they cannot possibly make judgement either. I find the other issue with weather is rain. When it is raining, I find brighter street lighting in urban areas a bit more helpful with visibility.

Are Hampshire going too far with dimming the Libras? I'll have to make a judgement when the change happens, but they are riding close to the wire in my opinion. Assuming a linear relationship, under the new regime a 36W Libra will use 20W or 13W of power. That really isn't much for a non-LED street light. And all this time, a 60W CosmoArc running at 68 circuit Watts would still consume in the order of 41W, and in true PFI style, Cosmo is installed in some very random places where you would expect to see Libras. Much like going from my house to the town centre, I have a choice of three parallel roads of terraced houses, all of which are the same in nature, but one has 36W Libras, one has half and half 36W and 55W Libras, and the other 60W CosmoArcs. If the streets are all identical, why is the lighting not?


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 Post subject: Re: South Coast PFI
PostPosted: Wed Mar 23, 2016 8:00 pm 
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Just as a follow on, the revised dimming regimes in Hampshire commence on the 1st April.

In Southampton, a dimming regime of 25-50-25 for residential roads and 0-25-0 for main roads was agreed in 2013 and still applies, although there are apparently exceptions where no dimming takes place. Meanwhile, West Sussex continues with its photocell switching and part night lighting/part night 25% dimming regimes as originally conceived.


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 Post subject: Re: South Coast PFI
PostPosted: Tue Apr 19, 2016 3:47 pm 
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In West Sussex, concrete columns have now been eradicated on the A264 between Horsham and Crawley with the last section of works at the Faygate roundabout, just being finished off.

In Crawley itself, the A23 north of Manor Royal is getting Lumas (rather than Iridiums) on the new columns that are being installed.


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 Post subject: Re: South Coast PFI
PostPosted: Wed Apr 27, 2016 6:40 pm 
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In Hampshire, "tidying up" of odds and end left out by the PFI continues. In Portchester, columns installed just prior to the PFI by the pedestrian subway near The Downsway which had ZXU1s fitted, have finally had these swapped out for Libras.

It is a similar story in the shopping precinct, ZXU1s have been swapped out for 55W Libras, except they are on columns that date from the mid 1970s. Well, at least the columns are galvanised under the paint.  :roll:


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 Post subject: Re: South Coast PFI
PostPosted: Fri Apr 29, 2016 10:00 pm 
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I believe columns younger than 15 years are excluded from the PFI. Consequently I've seen a number of Residiums survive in West Sussex.


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 Post subject: Re: South Coast PFI
PostPosted: Sat Apr 30, 2016 9:40 am 
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Paianni wrote:
I believe columns younger than 15 years are excluded from the PFI. Consequently I've seen a number of Residiums survive in West Sussex.


It was meant to be the case that everything installed before 1990 got replaced, and columns installed after 1990 got retained. Of course, a number of columns installed after 1990 got replaced. A few older columns (excluding casties) have also slipped through the net, of which the oldest is believed to be a 1950s 25ft S&L column.

In Southampton and Hampshire, the intention was to replace or upgrade all lanterns, with functional lanterns replaced and modern or heritage lanterns either replaced or fitted with new control gear and remote monitoring. That hasn't quite happened yet, but not intentionally.

In West Sussex, on the other hand, the contract is different. West Sussex uses photocells rather than remote monitoring, and where columns are young enough to have been retained, it seems that quite often the lanterns fitted to these columns have also been retained, unlike in Southampton or Hampshire where the lanterns would have been replaced. Hence, West Sussex still retains a greater variety of modern lanterns, although I say variety in the loosest sense, as the vast majority of lighting is Libras, Arcs and Iridiums.


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 Post subject: Re: South Coast PFI
PostPosted: Sat Apr 30, 2016 4:31 pm 
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In the last couple of days the PFI has claimed the last concrete in Southampton.


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 Post subject: Re: South Coast PFI
PostPosted: Sat May 07, 2016 11:53 am 
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Here are some updated stats about Hampshire's street lighting, taken from the Hampshire County Council website:

131485 street lights owned by Hampshire County Council
9742 street lights owned by parish and district councils
8875 illuminated road signs
2153 subway and tunnel lights
399 mains powered school crossing flashers
3094 solar powered bollards
137 mains powered bollards
160 Belisha beacons
8 traffic island beacons

147824 units now connected to the central management system

102196 fluorescent fittings
23367 high pressure sodium fittings
17263 CosmoPolis fittings
7375 LED fittings
3227 "other" fittings
(total 153428)


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 Post subject: Re: South Coast PFI
PostPosted: Fri Jun 03, 2016 9:03 pm 
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In Hampshire there is currently a focus on lighting mounted to motorway bridges. These columns are currently in the process of being removed permanently, as bridge-mounted columns are frowned upon nowadays for health and safety reasons.

Speaking of which, it would appear the usual health and safety precautions have gone out the window with the removals. It's not so bad where columns are mounted in the footway of the bridge, but how are the crews removing columns that are mounted on the other side of the bridge parapets, overhanging the motorway? They aren't doing any motorway closures beneath the works to the best of my knowledge, so they must literally be leaning through the rails of the parapets to unbolt the columns, and then lifting them over the parapets with live traffic below. In a couple of cases, columns have been chopped near the base. Would this have been with a grinder, showering sparks on the live motorway below?


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 Post subject: Re: South Coast PFI
PostPosted: Sat Jul 16, 2016 10:50 pm 
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By the sounds of it could Hampshire County Council be performing VMS lane closures when they're removing bridge mounted columns? I'm thinking that they may be doing, as it be pretty daft to perform such a removal with live traffic wizzing underneath.

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From streetlighting to radio, dance through the night whilst the streetlights are glowing outside.


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